Per the Surface Transportation Board press release here (link).
The DesertXpress petition is linked here (15MB pdf).
The FRA Record Of Decision page is linked here, includes supporting docs.
DesertXpress is a proposed HSR line running from Victorville, CA to Las Vegas, NV along Interstate 15.
The DesertXpress fluffy web site is here (link).
I still question the viability of this project:
- Unknown / indeterminate funding sources including an FRA 'Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing' loan (oh, yeah, we can afford more debt ) Rehabilitate or improve what? A pump-and-dump stock scheme is not out of the question.
- Disruption to I-15 traffic during construction. A lot of grid lock happening in the desert now, probably more to come. No one will mind that ....
- NO RAIL CONNECTIONS at the SoCal end. The closest public transit hub is the 'Victor Valley Transportation Center' (bus station and Amtrak SW Chief). Sure, driving ~90 miles to/from Victorville is no problemo.
EDIT - The City of Victorville preferred terminus is at the intersection of Dale Evans Parkway and I-15 ( Lat/Long 34.645036,-117.219465), a full 10 miles from the above V.V.T.C. SoCal residents, now we know who s****ed us.
If DesertXpress was credible, they would have a published 'phase 2' plan to extend south to San Bernardino or partner with Metrolink to extend the latters service to Victorville.
Let the boondoggle begin!
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
Should I laugh now, or wait 'til later?
The Desert Xpress was supposed to break ground in 2009 - - 2010...
Here it is, most of the way through 2011 and he STB finally noticed that this (fillintheblank) exists? It was supposed to be operating by now!
Looking at this from the point of view of an Angelino: Having just bucked traffic all the way across the Basin and fought my way to the top of Cajon, I'm now going to park my ride at a park-and-ride in the approximate heart of nowhere and spend a century note to ride a train to Las Vegas, where I can either rent a car or pay outrageous taxi fares to get around because I don't have my own car... (And then another hundred clams to get back...)
Looked at from the point of view of a resident of Clark County, NV (which I am.) Desert Xpress? Whazzat?
If this had any reasonable chance, the casino owners would be lining up, checkbooks in hand, to get it built. If they are, it's the best kept secret in Las Vegas.
Chuck (North Las Vegas resident)
There's also a lot of environmental issues that have yet to be addressed and I don't see a lot of investors (speculators?) willing to throw money at this project.
They're just another group that wants to have you and me to pay for this kind of Transportation while they put nothing into this project. It seems that there only desire is to have another government poorly run Railroad from which they can drain more money out of so they will not have to work. It's time that more private money gets put into this project,not more government money that the people of Nevada and,California can't afford to fund, build and run this project on. Now From reading this post and viewing there web site there seems to be no private or corporate funding involved. Well for this to work well it must be funded by more private money,not less and the government should only stay out or at best fund it with little or no Tax payer funds.
Heaven is riding on a Train
Las Vegas: A city based solely on tourism in the middle of a desert beset by record breaking foreclosures, intermittent water shortages, an economy failing to the lack of discretionary travel due to high unemployment. Lets spend a billion to get there faster. Brilliant use of funds from a bankrupt treasury. And so it goes.
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
And here we are, exactly two years since the last post.
If there has been any activity on the part of the Desert Xpress/ExpressWest lotus eaters, it has totally escaped Media notice. It hasn't even been mentioned by Harry Reed since I can't remember when.
Back in July the DOT advised the chairmen of both the House and Senate Finance Committees that, "Consideration of the ExpressWest request for a federal loan is on indefinite hold." Stick a fork in it, folks. It's done.
(On second thought, maybe we ought to dig a hole next to it, roll it in and cover it over.)
Chuck (reporting from the Las Vegas Valley)
I agree with the critics except for one item: I do understand that now Las Vegas has a reasonably decent public transportation system that includes an operating monorail and guided bus bus-lanes. So renting a car or using taxis is not essential if you arrive by public transportation. Chuck can correct me if I am mistaken.
The Las Vegas monorail runs parallel to the Strip, but a couple of hundred yards to the east. It doesn't serve McCarran, and doesn't reach Fremont Street. Last I heard it was seeking Chapter Eleven status. (The monorail is another thing that doesn't get much media time.)
The bus system is good, if you're a local and want to travel from the outskirts to the casino zone or vice-versa. The newer busses (or possibly rebuilds) burn natural gas - a big improvement over the black clouds that used to hang over major routes. However, getting from one to another of the outlying casinos by public transportation can be an adventure.
Just to add another stone to this pyramid, the most recent version of the DesertXpress website stated the trains would run on 20 minute headway, and were intended to press on to Salt Lake City and Denver. That snapping sound was my credibility going well beyond its elastic limit.
Chuck (Las Vegas Valley desert tortoise)
Do the buses serve the outlying casinos? If so, can one just take a bus to the strip and then transfer to another out to the other casino? What kind of headways (time between buses on one route) do they have, and do the run a schedule to make good connections, or is it sort of random?
Public transit seldom makes money, so the financial condition of the monorail isn't a surprise. But is it used often? Any chance of it being integrated into the whole local transportation system as part of the bus system?
Howdy, Dave,
The Las Vegas Monorail is a privately-owned system operating on a not-for-profit basis, "As allowed by Nevada law since it provides a public service." (Wikipedia) It exited Chapter 11 in 2012, but only by restructuring debt and curtailing future expenditures. Corporate sponsors are as important to the fiscal side as paying passengers. The real problem is that its south end is four miles north of McCarran, and its north end is four miles south of the major (bus) transportation hub at the north edge of downtown. Ridership approximates 1,000,000/quarter (about 10% of total fares paid on busses) but a lot of that is tourist, "Let's try the Monorail," joyriding, not riders using it as a part of their commute route. The park-and-ride lot at the north end always has lots of empty spots.
To take a bus between outlying casinos (not between the strip and a single outlier) usually requires a Z shaped route (two transfers) on routes that may have a bus every forty minutes (and not really scheduled to facilitate transfer - usually have to cross a busy street between bus stops.) The map shows a lot of routes, but the Clark County metroplex is sprawled out. The only practical way for me to reach multiple destinations in a single trip involves a Toyota, not RTC busses.
Chuck (Clark County resident)
If one is a tourist and dependent on public transportation, one would then stick pretty much to "The Strip." Is there something special about any of the outlying casinos that would make a tourist feel that missing them is missing something important about Las Vegas?
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